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Buying an iPad Pro for coding was a mistake

technicallychallenged.substack.com

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Re: Buying an iPad Pro for coding was a mistake

#311

Post by mark_l_watson »

I don’t argue at all with the negative comments here about iPad coding.

That said, I am happy coding using a mosh client (Blink), tmux, a large VPS that is always on, and a really nice Emacs setup on my VPS. Separately, I like the Working Copy git app. I use my iPad Pro a lot for writing and research (and of course entertainment media) and always being able to instantly get to a tmux screen on my server is very nice. Sometimes I use a large external monitor with StageManager window manager, but usually I just use my iPad, with or without a keyboard.

So I don’t advise other people trying to code on an iPad, since I like Emacs oriented coding, my iPad Pro works fine for me.

Re: Buying an iPad Pro for coding was a mistake

#313

Post by scarface_74 »

iLoveOncall wrote: post #310
scarface_74 wrote: post #287

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you talking about an ARM Mac or x86 Mac?

x86, a 2019 model (and I had this behavior from the start). I'm aware it's uncomparable to the ARM-based ones, but people were saying the same BS back when it was only Intel.

No one said ever that x86 based Mac laptops had great battery life or ran cool.

Re: Buying an iPad Pro for coding was a mistake

#314

Post by joshstrange »

In other news bananas don't work well as cars. I love my Apple products but you really need to know which device is best for which job. A M2 iPad Air 12.9" and a M2 MacBook Air 13" are the /same price/. I cannot fathom why you would think an iPad is a serious programming/development platform, it just isn't and there isn't anyone saying it is. Yes you can develop "on it" (normally by SSH-ing elsewhere) but it just doesn't work well in that role.

Again, I own just about every product Apple has put out but when I'm on an iPad it's consumption/gaming device, if I want to do anything serious at all (even replying to a comment where I might want to list my sources) I pull out my MacBook, it's just heads and shoulders better at basic shit like copy/paste/multi-app/multi-window.

Re: Buying an iPad Pro for coding was a mistake

#315

Post by jjice »

The author seems to mention things that are close to it, but I could never write code on a machine that I don't have full terminal access (in a mostly unrestricted way) to. The idea that I can't have a terminal to access everything I need and now I have to be forced into a specific playground app is absolutely a dream killer. The fact that I'd need a separate development environment that I need to connect to over the internet to be able to have the computing flexibility/freedom that I _should_ have on my machine just means that that machine isn't good for development, for me, but probably for most devs.

Re: Buying an iPad Pro for coding was a mistake

#316

Post by justinclift »

the__alchemist wrote: post #298
justinclift wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For me, after doing a bunch of evaluation I went with buying an old (and very cheap) 2nd hard Surface Pro 3 on Ebay to see if that could possibly do the job. ... and yep, it does even with just Windows on it. Technically Linux can be loaded onto these things, and apparently works pretty well. But, I never got around to trying that out. About a year later I dropped the damn thing and completely shattered the screen. S…

My experience with Linux on on a SP wasn't great. The basic PC functionality is fine, but getting the pen and touch working required a custom kernel and a fair amount of effort. The input latency on the pen, combined with no good writing apps on Linux killed it for me.

Ahhh damn. Didn't know that.

Thanks for the heads up. :)

Re: Buying an iPad Pro for coding was a mistake

#317

Post by whywhywhywhy »

oefrha wrote: post #244
whywhywhywhy wrote: post #204

Boggles the mind why people still fall for the iPad Pro as a serious work machine beyond writing meme. The fact that Final Cut launched on it recently and while its exporting you have to sit there leaving the app open you can't go do something else is the punchline of the decade for the lie that this is a serious machine. This is before we get into the comical evolution from "You just need the touchscreen" to "Actual…

I don’t use Final Cut so not sure if it supports split screen, but even apps that require full screen can be multitasked with Stage Manager now. So you can go do something else. I don’t love Stage Manager, but I use it from time to time for this exact purpose — do something else while a full screen app is also running.

Final Cut does not support split screen multitasking or resizing. and you can't switch away from it while it's exporting to answer a slack message or browse the web, it will just cancel the export.

https://9to5mac.com/2023/05/24/final-cut-for-ipad-limitation...

Re: Buying an iPad Pro for coding was a mistake

#318

Post by eddieroger »

whywhywhywhy wrote: post #204

Boggles the mind why people still fall for the iPad Pro as a serious work machine beyond writing meme. The fact that Final Cut launched on it recently and while its exporting you have to sit there leaving the app open you can't go do something else is the punchline of the decade for the lie that this is a serious machine. This is before we get into the comical evolution from "You just need the touchscreen" to "Actual…

It depends on what you consider a serious work machine. Half the time, I couldn't do my job on it because I need Xcode and Android Studio, neither of which run on it (yet?). But days where I'm in meetings or just writing docs, I could (and have) gotten by on just my iPad. My barber runs their business on an iPad, using a native app to handle scheduling and payment combined with a Square reader. Musicians can carry their entire musical portfolio on one, and get paid for their work after. Realtors can do nearly all of their daily work on one since it's largely web-based these days. Our use cases aren't the only ones.

Re: Buying an iPad Pro for coding was a mistake

#319

Post by Cshelton »

So I love the IPad Pro form factor.

In all seriousness, now that the Ipad runs the same chips (I believe) as the MacBooks, what is preventing the option to just run MacOS on the Ipad?

Is there a technical limitation still or is it just Apple segregating the OS to different product lines?

Re: Buying an iPad Pro for coding was a mistake

#320

Post by dayvid »

whywhywhywhy wrote: post #204

Boggles the mind why people still fall for the iPad Pro as a serious work machine beyond writing meme. The fact that Final Cut launched on it recently and while its exporting you have to sit there leaving the app open you can't go do something else is the punchline of the decade for the lie that this is a serious machine. This is before we get into the comical evolution from "You just need the touchscreen" to "Actual…

It's really nice as an extension of a notebook (doing math problems, drawings, practicing on keyboard quickly, etc.).

I wouldn't replace it as a serious work machine, but it doesn't need to be really. Over time it will get closer and closer.

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